1. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown, fiction, on sale April 2)

What it's about: Tells the story of Ursula Todd, who is born in England in 1910, only to die, and be born again, multiple times, in a novel that asks: "What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?"

The buzz: A joint Indie Next No. 1 pick of independent booksellers (along with identically titled Life After Life by Jill McCorkle). Atkinson's "Life After Life is simply a terrific novel, rich with history and possibility, that will leave the reader pondering long after the final page," says Kat Bailey of Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Calif.

What it's about: Reynolds, who turns 81 on April 1, takes another crack at the memoir genre with a follow-up to her 1988 autobiography, Debbie: My Life.

The buzz: The actress (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) brings us up to the present in her storied life, and shares anecdotes about old Hollywood pals including Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor.

What it's about: Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, writes of her difficult relationship with her mother, who sent Maya and her brother away to live with their grandmother when she was just 3.

The buzz: "Written with her customary eloquence… The lessons and the love presented here will speak to those trying to make their way in the world," says Publishers Weekly.